The Italian Ministers of Labour and Industry, Franco Marini and Guido Bodrato, are to meet with those union representatives currently in negotiations with Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA over proposed redundancies. The meeting was requested by the unions FIM, FIOM and UILM – in order that Olivetti’s proposals are examined from the unions’ viewpoint. Also, the meeting will cover the government’s plans for information technology, and the exercise may help determine whether Olivetti is justified in making 2,000 job cuts, according to the Ministry of Labour. In the meantime, the unions have asked Olivetti to reconsider the closure of its plant at Crema or to arrange transfer of 700 workers into Italy’s ultimate repository – the public sector.
